Just Right
by happyfunball
Summary: The CIA and NCIS clash as Gibbs's team works to uncover who shot Annie Walker's Navy contact. The case turns out to be harder than expected, as the members of both agencies find themselves facing tough truths about themselves and others mid-investigation.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_CIA_

Annie Walker groaned as she sat in the chair next to Auggie Anderson.

"I smell an Annie," he said, a smile flicking across his face as he turned towards her, his unseeing eyes overshooting her head as usual.

"Yeah, it's me," Annie sighed, putting her elbow on the desk and placing her head in her hand. "Hey."

"Oh, I know it's you." Auggie grinned. "What's wrong?"

"My legs just really ache," Annie grumbled, reaching down and rubbing her left one. "Running an extra mile each day."

"You fight bad guys on a regular basis, but you hurt your leg running?" Annie glared at him. "I noticed you were walking a little gingerly," Auggie continued with a nod. "Well, you'll adjust yourself, I'm sure. You always do." A blush crossed Annie's face, and she was glad that he couldn't see that whenever he complimented her.

"Boss is coming," Auggie muttered, turning back to his work after a momentary silence between him and Annie. Annie stood slowly and brushed off her skirt. She looked up to see Joan Campbell walk in the glass door, a file held in her hand and her long blonde hair draped over her shoulder.

"Auggie," she said simply.

"Boss," Auggie replied, putting his headphones on. Annie swallowed her usual anxiety of talking to Joan, and gave her a brief, "Hello," which was ignored.

"Take 'em off," Joan ordered, and Auggie complied, swiveling his chair around to face her. She turned to Annie. "Annie, I need you to go down and talk to our agent by Quantico. Auggie will be going with you."

"Send the blind guy as backup away from home," Auggie said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well, you're an excellent fighter and you know how to work wireless equipment that you'll need," Joan told him. "Besides, someone needed to drive. You're leaving tomorrow morning. Read the file in the car." Joan dropped the file down on Auggie's desk and left. Annie raised her eyebrows and turned back to Auggie.

"A weekend alone," he remarked with a grin. Annie, who was picking up and flipping through the file for what information she would need to know, smacked his arm.

"And we'll keep it business," she said, through the grin that had leapt to her face once she had realized the assignment. A weekend alone with Auggie? Now, that couldn't be so bad.

"Are you grinning?" Auggie asked, the smile still on his face. "I get the feeling that you are…aren't you?" Annie's eyes flicked up to him for a brief second, but she didn't respond, still smiling. "Well, don't worry," Auggie continued, putting his headphones on again. "I don't like to mix business with pleasure." Annie snorted loudly, just to make sure he knew full well that she was making fun of him. A silence fell for bit, though, as she looked through the file and he reviewed work on his computer.

"Quantico?" she asked eventually. "Isn't that Navy territory? Do we have jurisdiction there?" Auggie simply laughed.

"Annie, Annie, Annie," he said, and she relished hearing her name from his mouth like that. But wait…this was Auggie. Annie told her thoughts to shut up and paid attention to his serious words again. "Oh, when will you learn," Auggie sighed, "that we're the CIA? We don't have any kind of jurisdiction anywhere." Annie grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

_NCIS_

"Probie, can you make a coffee run?" Tony DiNozzo asked, leaning back in his seat. Tim McGee closed his eyes and sighed.

"Tony, I just went yesterday," he replied, turning to face Tony, who was, for some reason, looking at Ziva David and not him.

"And thus, I'm not asking you, McGoo," Tony replied, his eyes flicking over towards Tim, then back at Ziva. "I was asking…the probie." Ziva looked up from her desk and across at Tony, who had that stupid, insufferable smile that always made her heart throb.

"I'm not getting your coffee, Tony," she told him simply, fighting back the smile that wanted to warm her features. She looked back at her work to keep her face straight and her thoughts away from Tony.

"I," Tony declared, suddenly rising from his seat and walking towards Ziva, "am far your senior agent. You should do as I say, probie, or –"

"Or what I say," interrupted Gibbs, walking in from the side.

"Exactly what I was saying, boss!" Tony cried. He turned around to face Gibbs, who was grabbing things from his desk. "Going somewhere, boss?"

Gibbs stood up straight and looked at the three agents. "Do you need an invitation? Shot Marine near Quantico! Grab your gear." As he left, Ziva wandered towards Tony, her hands clasped behind her back, and a small smile on her face.

"You may be a senior agent," she murmured, very close to him, "but I am the senior assassin." She dangled the car keys in his face and left for the elevator before he could snatch them away.

"That's why I don't anger her," Tim told Tony, following Ziva out. Tony grimaced and threw his bag over his shoulder, then followed suit.

***later***

"Why would someone just randomly shoot someone else?" Ziva asked, as she and the other agents walked up to the private's door, guns in hand.

"They wouldn't, Ziva," Gibbs replied, waiting to the side of the door. "There's always a reason." Tony tried the handle of the door, but it was locked. He back up, kicked the door in and the three of them burst in the house, branching out.

"Clear," Ziva called from her side of the house. Gibbs echoed her response, followed by Tim. Tony opened his mouth and was about to repeat the call, when he saw a figure dart by a nearby doorway. His eyebrows pushed together as he moved towards the doorway. Passing through the doorway, Tony looked around, gun still out.

"Where are you?" he muttered to himself, looking around.

"Here," a voice responded, and Tony felt someone grab his wrist and neck, anchoring a leg behind his calf. The person twisted around, and Tony found himself on the ground and staring up at brown eyes hidden behind blond hair as the person collapsed her weight on his arm and slammed a high heeled shoe down across his neck.

_CIA_

Those kitten heels coming in handy," Auggie chuckled in Annie's ear. Annie panted, staring down at the person who had no doubt shot her Navy contact, then returned to finish the job. He had a nice body for a killer, and Annie would admit she had certainly checked him out a little before speaking.

"Why did you shoot my contact?" she growled.

_NCIS_

Tony rolled his eyes in an attempt to show outward bravado, but on the inside, he was asking where the heck Ziva, Tim, and Gibbs were to fend off this crazy lady.

"I didn't shoot –" he began slowly.

"Why did you shoot my contact?" the woman asked him, louder this time.

"I didn't shoot your contact!" Tony told her, raising the volume on his voice. Hopefully Ziva would at least hear it. He raised his head off the floor a little to look at the woman. Yeah, she was smokin', but probably still slightly deranged. His gun had fallen from his hand was out of reach, now, though…

"Don't lie," the woman ordered. "You shot him, and now you've come back to finish the job." Tony chuckled dryly.

"Why would I shoot him? Firstly, he's a Marine, and I don't like messing with them. Second, I'm a –"

_CIA_

"Federal agent," said a voice behind Annie. Her eyes widened as she leapt up and turned, her shoe still straddling the man's throat. _Federal agents?_

"Oh, damn," Auggie groaned. "Got a good story?" Annie gritted her teeth at his uselessness, as her eyes met the dark ones of the agent who was pointing the gun at her.

"I think my colleague and I would both appreciate it if you stepped away from his neck," the agent continued. The man under Annie's foot sighed and let his head hit the ground.

"About time you're here, Ziva," he said. "Waiting for the right moment or something?"

"Shut up, Tony," the "Ziva" girl growled. Annie lifted her heel cautiously, and allowed "Tony" to roll out and climb to his feet.

"Boss," he called as Annie decided it might be a good idea to raise her hands up. A man with gray hair walked in, alongside another younger man. Annie could see their guns held loosely by their sides. Using his free hand, the older man reached into an inside jacket pocket, pulling out a badge and holding it open in Annie's face.

"NCIS," he said. "Who are you?" Annie paused for a minute, waiting to see if Auggie wanted to input a suggestion.

When he didn't make one, she told the group surrounding her, "CIA."

"Good choice," Auggie said in her ear. "You already mentioned your contact."

"ID?" the man in front of her, the apparent boss, said.

"In the car," Annie told him slowly, still slightly dumbfounded. The boss shrugged.

"I trust you," he said.

"What?" hissed Auggie, as Annie's hands fell to her sides.

"Seriously?" Annie asked incredulously.

"But Gibbs, she –" Ziva began, her gun still pointed at Annie.

"Ziva." Gibbs turned around to face her. "I trust her." Ziva sighed and holstered the gun.

_NCIS_

Tony leaned in towards Ziva. "Never question the gut." Ziva elbowed him in the ribs.

"Where's my contact?" the CIA woman asked.

"In a coma in the hospital," Gibbs replied. "If you didn't know where he was, how do you know he was shot?"

"Blood splatters on the wall and the lack of a body," the woman answered. "I can put two and two together."

"Well, come on," Gibbs remarked, grabbing her arm. "This is our case. We don't need the CIA to interfere."

"Excuse me," the woman said, pulling her arm out of his grip. "He was my contact, and I'd like to find out who shot him."

"Yeah, and so would we," Gibbs retorted, "because he's our Marine."

He and the CIA woman glared at each other, as Tony leaned toward Ziva and whispered, "This...is gonna be good."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_CIA_

"How did we get into this?" Auggie muttered, as Annie drove behind the NCIS group. "We're not NCIS. We don't solve crimes like these. We could turn off right now."

"No, Auggie," Annie sighed. "We're staying. It's going to be interesting to solve a case like this. Doesn't all that other secret agency stuff ever bore you?"

"No," Auggie said instantly. "I like it. I sit in a lab and don't do much." Annie rolled her eyes.

"Well, I think this will be fun," she told him. "If Joan calls, we're waiting until our contact comes out of a coma."

Auggie grimaced. "She won't like it."

"She never does," Annie replied, flicking on her blinker as they pulled into the NCIS parking lot. Auggie closed his eyes and sighed. He wished they could just go back to the hotel. Alone. It would make everything easier. But no, Annie wanted to play hero.

_NCIS_

Gibbs threw his things down at his desk, and Tim, Tony, and Ziva followed suit at their own desks, then took seats. Gibbs took a breath to try to ready his patience, then turned to face the two CIA members that were following him.

"Since we might be working together," he said, "we might as well start with introductions. Gibbs." He held out his hand, and the woman shook it.

"Annie Walker," she told him. She looked around at the rest of the team. "And everyone else?"

Tim stayed seated, but he looked up at her and said, "Tim McGee." He grinned, and she smiled back. Ziva rose and began making her way towards Annie.

"Ziva David," she said, shaking hands with Annie.

"But you can just call her probie." Tony grinned and rose, slowly sauntering towards the two women. Ziva rolled her eyes, and Annie raised an eyebrow. "Probationary officer. Recently initiated. Tony DiNozzo." He held out his hand, and Annie took it tentatively. Ziva could see her trying to restrain herself from laughing at the cocky smile on Tony's face. Ziva recognized that smile, and felt a flare of jealousy, before viciously pushing it back down.

"Hi," Annie said, as if unsure what else to do.

"My talking-to-women-looks theory proven again," the man behind Annie murmured in her ear.

"Shut up," Annie muttered, elbowing him in the ribs.

"I'm sorry," Ziva said, stepping towards the man. "You are…?"

He smiled, and held out his free hand. "I'm Auggie. Auggie Anderson." Ziva glanced at him up and down, noticing strange things as she shook his hand. His other hand held a kind of laser pointer, his eyes didn't meet hers as they spoke, and as she shook his hand, he took a deep breath in.

"Nice perfume." He grinned. Ziva put the pieces together.

"You're blind," she said quietly. His smile turned moderately sheepish as he shrugged.

"Yup," he told her, "but I still work for the CIA. Weird, huh?" Ziva nodded, as she stepped back to evaluate the pair.

_CIA_

"Quite the operation here," Annie said awkwardly, looking around.

"We have to be. We catch a lot of people." A click from behind her caused Annie to turn around. Gibbs was rising out of his seat. "We have to go see the director." As she left, Tony muttered, "Good luck," causing her to turn back but he just flashed her his cocky smile again.

"God, Annie, are you smokin'?" Auggie whispered with a smile.

"You tell me," she replied quietly.

"I'd say yes." The grin still lingered on his face, causing her to flush a deep red.

_NCIS_

Looking after Annie and Auggie, Tim noticed Annie blush after they spoke to each other.

"On a scale of one to ten," Tim said slowly, turning back to Ziva and Tony, "how much do they like each other?"

"Forty-five," Ziva said, smiling.

"One hundred and three," Tony added.

"I agree," Tim told them with a smile.

"However, no matter how happy they may unknowingly be together, she is still one of the most perfect chicks I have ever seen," Tony commented, looking after Annie appreciatively. A pen flew through the air and struck Tony on the temple suddenly. "Ow!" he hissed, reaching up to his head gingerly as he glanced over at Tim, who was working stolidly on his computer. Tony's eyes next flicked over to Ziva, who was working a little less stolidly on work.

"Probie," he said sharply, and she looked up at him calmly.

"Yes?" Tony could tell she was merely feigning innocence.

"Why did you throw a pen at my face?" Tony asked, holding up the weapon in question. Ziva shrugged.

"I didn't."

"Don't lie to me, probie. I know when -"

"Oh! Right. I was picking it up off my desk, and it must have slipped. Well, I'm sorry it hurt. Next time, I'll throw it hard enough at the right target that you won't have to worry about anything hurting…ever again."

Tony swallowed. "Nevermind. Continue your work, probie." Tim chuckled, and Tony turned around to glare at him. Ziva looked back at her work, glad he couldn't see through her façade and notice her jealousy. She had always hidden it well before, with his various other girlfriends, underneath taunting and/or mockery, but it was coming to a bit of an unexpected peak now. Ever since he had helped bring her back from Israel, things had been…different between them. It wasn't up to her to try to ruin his happiness. He had a tendency to do that plenty well on his own. Ziva sighed and began actually working again.

At his desk, Tim was texting Abby, unbeknownst to the others.

'TIVA EMERGENCY!' he wrote. 'I think it's time we initiate Operation MET!'

'Not Operation MET!' Abby wrote back. 'What's going on?'

'We might be working a case with the CIA. Their operative is a very pretty woman, and Ziva looks ready to explode whenever Tony smiles at her.'

'But she always looks like that.'

'Yeah, but she just threw a pen at his face.'

"McGee!"

Tim looked up to see Abby doing a mad dash towards him. How did she get here so fast?

"H-hi, Abby," he stammered.

"No time, McGee!" she cried, spinning his chair towards herself and slamming her hands down on the armrests. She put a hand up, cupping his chin. "You're right. This is an emergency. Let's go!" Abby's hand dropped to clutch Tim's wrist and she dragged him with her, to the elevator. Once they were safely inside, Abby began pacing back and forth.

"McGee, we formulated this plan years ago and I think it's time to put it into action." She suddenly stopped pacing and looked up. "What say you?"

Tim shrugged. "I wouldn't have contracted you if I didn't think it was time." A smile quickly formed on Abby's face.

She threw her hand into the air and shouted, "Yes! Operation Make 'Em Talk is now a go!"

Back at their desks, Ziva and Tony were in complete confusion, looking after Tim and Abby at the closed doors of the elevator.

"Any idea what's going on?" Tony asked.

"Not in the slightest," Ziva replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_CIA_

Annie and Auggie stood in front of the large plasma facing Gibbs and Ziva's desks, which was now displaying a large photograph of the Marine who was shot. During a short conversation with Director Vance, it was decided that the two of them could work the case with the NCIS agents.

"We could use the CIA's intelligence sometimes, and you may be able to benefit from using ours," Vance had said. Standing in front of the plasma, though, Annie was beginning to question herself. Was working away from home with unfamiliar faces really the best choice?

"So, what do we know about our Marine?" Gibbs asked from behind her.

"No wife, no kids, doesn't even seem to be able to hold down a girlfriend," DiNozzo answered.

"Hard worker, great recommendations from everyone around his squad," Ziva added.

"There's always someone who doesn't like the person they shot," Gibbs said. "Find out who." He looked around and noticed McGee's empty desk. "Where's McGee?"

Ziva looked up from her desk as she and DiNozzo took their seats. "I don't know. He went off with Abby for something…important, it seems."

"If it's that important, she would have notified me," Gibbs muttered. "I'm going to get my coffee." As he walked off towards the elevator, he pointed back at Ziva and DiNozzo, adding, "You two find out who wanted him dead and why."

"On it, boss," DiNozzo called. Annie took a tentative seat at Gibbs's empty desk.

"So he's the boss," she said slowly. "What should I know about him?"

"He's a former Marine, married four times and divorced three, he trusts his gut, and man, does that guy love his coffee," Tony told her, looking at his computer.

"Tony, you're missing something," Ziva commented.

"Oh, right. Best boss ever." He glanced up at Annie, grinning. Annie had to admit that his smile did make her blush a little, but then she felt Auggie's hand touch her arm as he knelt next to her, and she instantly felt guilty. For the life of her, though, she coulldn't figure out why. It was just Auggie there, right? Just…Auggie?

"Annie," he whispered in her ear. "How cute is this DiNozzo guy?" Annie instantly went bright red. Auggie chuckled. "Well, judging by the heat from you practically burning my eyebrows off, I'd say very."

"Why?" Annie hissed, angry at her embarrassment.

"Because Ziva David has a very big crush on him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt the same way," Auggie murmured. Annie looked up at the two of them, working on their own projects, and she definitely couldn't blame Ziva. But hey, Ziva didn't have someone like Auggie by _her_ side.

Wait…what?

Beside her, Auggie rose suddenly and laid a hand on Gibbs's desk. Annie looked up at him, trying to forget her thoughts of a couple of seconds ago.

"Does anyone else notice something weird about the private's story?" he asked. Ziva and DiNozzo looked up at Auggie in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"Well, it's simple," Auggie explained. "You said that everyone loved him, right?"

"So?" DiNozzo questioned, clearly confused.

"You added that he wasn't able to hold down a girlfriend," Auggie continued. "If he was so well-liked, why would that happen?" Behind him, Annie smiled appreciatively.

"Well, either someone's really out to get him or he's doing something wrong with his personal life," Ziva commented.

Auggie nodded. "Where's your forensics person?"

"Downstairs," Ziva answered, then she rose. "I'll take you to her."

"Her," Auggie repeated, raising his eyebrows and turning to Annie.

"Just go," Annie said, pushing Auggie after Ziva, but the phrase came out harsher than the joking tone intended.

While in the elevator, a silence fell, as Auggie stood between the two women, facing the doors stolidly. Although his face displayed nothing of importance, his mind was reeling. He was thinking about Annie's reaction to his questions about DiNozzo, and the moderate irritation about it. Auggie knew for some time now that Annie was attracted to him from the instant he first said, "Good luck." However, since just a month or two ago, Auggie was suffering from an immense bout of confusion. He knew how she felt through the way she spoke to him, the way she acted around him…since he went blind, he was able to see things others missed. Well, not see, exactly.

Auggie allowed himself a small mental chuckle as the elevator doors opened. His mind touched the subject of his own feelings about Annie briefly again, before booming music completely shattered his concentration.

"Did we just walk into a strip joint or something?" he asked loudly, trying to overcome his disorientation, get his bearings, and hear himself over the music.

"Abby's lab," Ziva replied. "She likes her music."

"Much less interesting," Auggie commented with a smile. Annie rolled her eyes, but grabbed his hand to help him out, and he felt both their pulses speed up a little bit.

"Abby," Ziva called loudly. "Abby!" The room was empty as Annie looked around. What could this forensics specialist be like?

"Abby!" Ziva shouted, one final time, then she walked over and slammed a hand on the boombox. The music ceased abruptly, and a glass door in the corner opened.

"Ziva!" The girl who entered looked like anything but a forensics specialist. Black bangs reached down neark dark eyes that sought out Ziva and the source of the sudden silence. "You know not to mess with my music!" The woman was about to play the music again, but Ziva grabbed her wrist to keep it away.

"You have guests," Ziva told her quietly, and, for the first time, it seemed, Abby noticed Annie and Auggie.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm Abby Sciuto and this," she gestured around her, "is my lab." As she let her hands fall back to her sides, the smile never left her black-lipsticked mouth.

"This is Annie and Auggie," Ziva said, gesturing to each respectively.

"I like the sound of your shoes." Auggie grinned. "Platforms?"

"Yeah…" Abby replied slowly. "I'm wearing them right in -"

"I'm blind," Auggie interrupted, still smiling.

"Oh." Abby's eyes seemed to widen as she realized her mistake. "Well, it's nice to meet you." Auggie nodded.

"Do we have any leads on the case?" Ziva asked. Abby grinned.

"I expected Gibbs to come in about now, but you'll do," she told Ziva. From the glass door through which Abby had arrived, McGee suddenly entered. Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, McGee," she said. Auggie chuckled to himself, humored by the tone of her voice. "Where did you…come from?" Annie raised her eyebrows as her eyes were on McGee, who stopped quickly and looked guiltily up at them, as if he was caught in the midst of a wrong-doing.

"I was just doing some work," McGee replied slowly. "Abby and I were – yeah, I'll go back up and keep working now." Annie's eyes followed McGee as Ziva followed him into the elevator.

"Well!" Abby exclaimed, causing Annie and Auggie to focus back on her. "Let's take a look-see." Annie glanced up at Auggie, smiles crossing both of their faces. Abby froze, realizing what she had said. "Oh…" she said slowly. "I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean – I just meant let's check out our evidence, because, well, you can't see." Auggie was smiling, bemused. "I'll just tell you what I have now." Abby bustled quickly over to her computer.

_NCIS_

"What were you and Abby doing?" Ziva asked Tim in the elevator.

"Working on a project," Tim replied, after a pause. Ziva stepped in front of him, shut down the elevator, then turned back and glared at him.

"McGee, I've been working with you for years and working as a Mossad officer for years before that," she said quietly. "Do you think I can't tell when someone is lying?" Tim shrugged.

"I don't know why you would think that. I'm working on a project with Abby. That's the truth." Ziva narrowed her eyes at him, trying to see through his story. She sighed and turned the elevator back on, taking her previous spot next to Tim again.

"Well, what you were doing is your business," she told him. "I don't want to be like Tony and endlessly…interfere. It's not my place." Tim allowed a small smile to cross his face.

"Thank you, Ziva," he said, a little bit surprised, though pleasantly so.

"Just don't say anything to Tony about it, or else he will definitely hound you about it," Ziva added. Tim nodded, and they stepped out of the elevator.

_CIA_

While she typed away furiously, Abby told Annie and Auggie, "I was looking through the crime scene photos that Tony took…and…_this_ one leapt out at me." She pulled up a picture of blood splatters on a wall in the private's home. Abby then realized that Auggie was still there and stammered, "I – it's a picture of the blood splatters found at the private's house. And this one," she zoomed in on a particular splatter, "is a very interesting splotch of blood." Annie's eyebrows pushed together.

"How so?" she asked, crossing her arms and walking to the large plasma on the other side of Abby.

"Because," Abby said with a smile, "this is something we can use." She zoomed in again on one particular spot in the splatter. "It's really hard to see, and it's only a partial, but it's still a fingerprint."

"Then run it through AFIS, Abs."

Annie and Auggie turned back towards the door to see Gibbs walking in, holding a large cup labeled "Caf-POW!" He placed the cup on the table nearby Abby, who had frozen, as if in fear.

"What else you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked, walking up and standing next to her, beside Auggie.

"I'm sorry, Gibbs, I forgot you always come in right when – they came with Ziva and asked – I had to show them -" Gibbs took one step closer to Abby.

"What else you got?" he repeated slowly. Abby swallowed, nodded, then turned back to her computer.

"Now this was cleverly hidden, but in this same splatter, I noticed a small hole -" Abby started, zooming in again on a different part of the large blood splatter.

"A bullet hole," Gibbs interrupted.

Abby nodded. "So my guess is that our private was standing near the wall when his shooter came by and bam!" She held a finger gun to Gibbs's chest. "The bullet went through him and into the wall, leaving this splatter, then the pool on the floor. Our shooter might have slipped in the blood, then put a hand out and we get our partial print."

"Good work, Abs," Gibbs told her, picking up the Caf-POW! and handing it to her. He began to walk towards the door.

"Wait!" Annie called, walking after him. "Where are you going?"

"To my desk," Gibbs replied, after turning around grudgingly. "You can go up and get that bullet for me." He turned back and entered the elevator.

"While you what? Sit and twiddle your thumbs?" Annie asked angrily, following him in.

"No, while we go up and visit our private," Gibbs answered, not looking at Annie. "He just came out of his coma." Annie almost gaped at him. Beside her, Auggie chuckled.

"I wish I could see your face now," he murmured, grinning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_NCIS_

In the passenger's seat of the car driving to the hospital, Tony crossed his arms irritably, glancing in the mirror at Annie's car following them.

"So, this chick is hot and all, but I hate working group cases," he grumbled. Ziva, who was driving rolled her eyes, trying to hide her hurt.

"Focus on the case itself, Tony," she told him. "I know it's tough for you to get your mind out of the gutter, but at least try."

"What is with you lately?" Tony asked loudly, his brow furrowing at her irritation. "You've been real angry with me and…I dunno! Just…out of character!" Ziva paused, flicking her over and glancing at him, then back at the road.

"I just want you to keep your mind on the case," she replied quietly. Tony turned to her.

"Is it a bad thing for me to be concerned about my partner?" Tony questioned. Ziva didn't reply, thinking of how he said, "My partner." "Look Ziva," he continued, "I just don't want you to lie to me, and I can tell when you are! You've said it yourself – I've got your back. And I always will. I can tell when something's wrong." He paused for a minute, but Ziva remained silent. "So what's wrong?" Ziva pulled the car to a stop, shoved the gear up to put it in park, and remained staring at the floor.

"We're here," she murmured, then stepped out of the car. Tony looked after her, confused and speechless. After a moment, though, he set his jaw and followed her exam,pled and climbed out of the car. Annie and Auggie pulled up alongside. Tony slammed his door shut, and glanced over at them, wondering how pissed Annie must have gotten to convince Gibbs to let her come to the hospital with them.

**-The Private's Home-**

"Think we should take a swab of this blood for a toxicology report?" Tim asked Gibbs as they approached the blood splatters in the dining room of the private's home.

"You think?" Gibbs said. "Why didn't you beforehand?"

"I think we all got a little preoccupied before," Tim replied, slightly hesitantly.

"Doesn't mean you should get sloppy," Gibbs told him, finding the spot on the wall where the bullet had entered.

"Absolutely not, boss," Tim said, as Gibbs knelt down with a penknife to pull the slug out of the wall.

"Bag, McGee," he said, holding out his hand.

"Yes, boss!" Tim replied, pulling one out of his pocket. Gibbs herded the bullet, rather collapsed, into the bag.

**-The Hospital-**

_CIA_

Annie and Auggie followed Ziva and DiNozzo as they stepped out of the elevator. Just one step showed them that by stepping out on to this floor was stepping into a scene of pandemonium.

"What's going?" Auggie whispered to Annie. "I thought this was a hospital…aren't they supposed to be quiet?"

"Yes…" Annie replied slowly. "But usually there aren't police here as well." She instinctively reached down and grabbed his hand to help him through the crowd, hoping he wouldn't feel her blush. In front of them, DiNozzo and Ziva approached a nearby officer.

"What is this?" DiNozzo asked, holding up his badge. "What's going on?"

"We've got a suspicious death," the officer told them all.

"Well, in which room?" Ziva questioned impatiently. The police officer looked briefly up at all four of them, then looked back at his clipboard and pointed with his pen.

"That one," he told them.

"That's our private's room," Annie growled, and she dragged Auggie with her inside the room.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?" Auggie asked. Annie looked around the hospital room at the nurses and officers wandering back and forth.

"Our private is dead," she muttered to Auggie.

"Now we'll never get our intel," he added.

"Someone really wanted to shut this guy up," DiNozzo said, coming up from behind the two of them.

"And now they've finally succeeded," Ziva commented. "Now we just need to find out who."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_NCIS_

"What happened?" Gibbs asked angrily. Tony raised his eyebrows, realizing that his anger was probably directed at the CIA agents, who had convinced him to go dig out a bullet from a wall.

"Someone killed our private," Annie answered simply.

"Well, yeah," Gibbs told her. "Who?" Annie shrugged.

"We don't know yet," she replied.

"Then find out!" Gibbs said. "Get surveillance cameras, something, anything!" He walked off to the elevators.

"On it, boss!" Tim sat at his desk and began typing furiously. Ziva sat as well, but Tony stayed standing, looking at Annie with curiosity.

"What is it about you," he said slowly, "that makes Gibbs find you so tolerable?"

"That's tolerating someone?" Annie questioned incredulously.

"Never would've guessed," Auggie commented beside her. At her desk, Ziva's mind flew. It was true…Gibbs was being oddly patient with her. Maybe she reminded him of someone.

"If I had made the same mistake you had…" Tony trailed off dramatically, leaving the punishment up to interpretation.

"You would've run off with your tail in between your legs?" interjected Annie. "I'm a little braver than you, sport." She lightly patted his cheek. Tony looked down at her, trying to evaluate who she was.

"If you weren't so hot, I would be very mad at you," he told her.

_CIA_

Honestly, he had struck a nerve. Annie hated special treatment because she was new, because she was a girl. Her face turned pink and she stepped forward, stomping on DiNozzo's foot. He winced, but she just slid her foot up, digging her heel into his toes.

"Mad at me now?" she asked, with a kind of false innocence.

"If I say yes, will you get off my foot?" DiNozzo replied, his voice sounding strained.

"Maybe," Annie told him, smiling mischievously.

"Then yes," DiNozzo whimpered. Annie thought about it for a minute, then took her heel off his toes.

She glared at him for a second, then stalked angrily off, saying, "Call me if there are developments." Auggie followed her.

"Annie, Annie," he called after her. "Ow! Annie!" She turned back to see Auggie with his eyes shut and a hand against his forehead. He had clearly smacked his head into the nearby staircase that led up to MTAC.

"Watch it," Annie told him, grabbing his arm. "There are stairs there."

"Really?" Auggie asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed." Annie dragged Auggie with her to the elevator. "Where are we going and why?"

"We're going home -" Annie began, then realized her mistake. "I mean, we're going back to the hotel. I can't stand being here anymore." At this point, Auggie counter-grabbed Annie's wrist and began pulling her back.

"Normally I would go right with you," he told her, "but you made me stay, so I'm making you stay." She hooked her hand around and pulled him again.

"Not fair, Auggie!" Annie exclaimed. "Just let me go!" In a sudden burst of strength, Auggie grabbed her other wrist and pulled both of them towards him and crushed her to his chest. Annie thought she heard his heart speed up…or was it just her imagination?

"You're not leaving, and I'm not either," he said quietly. "I've told you before; I'm on your side. Nothing's changing that. You ever feel stressed, you just come talk to me, understand?" Her face in his shirt, Annie nodded. "Good. Now let's go find a hallway to just sit and chat in." He released Annie, but maintained a hold on her hand. "Guide the way." Annie took a deep breath, smiled, then they entered the elevator together.

_NCIS_

Ziva watched Tony hobble back to his desk with a certain bit of amusement. She loved it when girls beat Tony up, though she did feel moderately territorial in that aspect. Beating up Tony proved to him how strong she could be.

"What are you staring at?"

Ziva blinked, as she realized that she had begun spacing out in Ton's general direction. Viciously telling herself not to blush, she glanced over at the computer screen.

"I was unfocused," she told Tony.

"Didn't I _just_ tell you not to lie to -" Tony began.

"Hey Ziva, want to go down to Autopsy with me?" Tim asked, suddenly and loudly.

"I don't -"

"Come on, let's find out how our private died." Tim rose, and began walking towards the elevator. Ziva looked around, confused for a minute, but then she also stood.

"Alright, McGee," she said. "Lead the way." They both stepped in the elevator and rode it in silence down to Autopsy, at which point they both stepped out to find Jimmy Palmer just crossing by the door.

"Oh, hi, Ziva and…Agent McGee," he said, sounding slightly surprised. Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"Something the matter?" she asked. Jimmy's eyes widened and he shook his head fervently.

"Oh, no!" he replied quickly. "No, it's just usually you come down here with Agent DiNozzo…I'll leave now." He quickly scurried away. Tim looked down at Ziva from the corner of his eye. She didn't seem very reactive to this comment, instead choosing to silently enter Autopsy. To both Ziva and Tim's surprise, Gibbs was standing by the dead private. Donald "Ducky" Mallard turned from scrubbing his hands and noticed Ziva and Tim for the first time.

"Ah, Ziva and Timothy!" he exclaimed in his cheery British accent, walking towards them. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Got something for me?" Gibbs asked. Ziva paused, glancing up at Tim, then she shook her head.

"No," she said. "Just checking on our private. How did he die?"

"The cause of death was asphyxiation," Ducky told her. "It seems someone has smothered our private to death with a pillow. Right after he came out of his coma, too, poor fellow. This gunshot wound here," he indicated with his pinkie a hole in the soldier's chest, above his heart, "left the private a little worse for wear, although the coma was healing him as quickly as possible. Someone wanted this young man dead, and quickly."

"Annie was right," Ziva muttered to Tim. "Someone wanted our private to take his intel with him to the grave."

"Annie?" Ducky questioned, befuddled.

"The one I was just -" Gibbs explained with a little hand waving.

"Ah, yes!" Ducky interrupted. "Your new CIA friend."

"Have you gotten me a face that killed the private, yet?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet, boss," Tim replied. "Working on it, though."

"Then get back upstairs and finish the job!" Gibbs instructed. Tim nodded, and he and Ziva entered the elevator. Once the doors had shut, Ziva sighed.

"McGee, why did you bring me down here?" she asked, not looking up at him.

"Do I need a reason to find out how someone dies?" Tim answered, hiding any suspicious activity.

"You do for suddenly pulling me away in the middle of a conversation," Ziva told him. "McGee, you've been acting strange lately. What is going on?" Tim sighed and told himself, 'Operation MET. It's time.'

"Ziva, _you_ need to tell me what's going on," he said. You've been acting weird and, look…I know why." As Ziva looked sharply up at him, he reached across and shut off the elevator.

"What do you mean?" she murmured.

"Tony DiNozzo," Tim answered. "Look, Ziva, I know you like him. Everyone knows it. Probably everyone but Tony, though." Ziva laughed softly.

"He is not the smart type," she commented, a small mile on her face.

"No, he's not," Tim agreed, with a small chuckle. He turned to face her. "But you're not denying it."

Ziva sighed. "Why would I? You are right. I do have…affections for Tony. I always have."

"They're stronger than just 'affections,' aren't they?"

"…Yes."

"Then, Ziva, why don't you just tell him?"

Ziva laughed. "Tim, you know Tony. He would just laugh, saying I was joking, then walk away. That, or he would just…say no. I do not want to suffer more heartbreak."

"Ziva, your sights are set low. If you told him, he would either meet your expectations or surpass them greatly." Tim sighed, then turned the elevator back on. After a couple seconds, a _bing_ notified them that they were back on their floor. Tim looked back at Ziva as the doors opened. "Think about it," he told her, then left her alone in the elevator.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_CIA_

"Remind me again where we are and why we're here," Auggie muttered to Annie as they walked down an alley in a moderately frightening part of a city near Quantico. The alley was lined with scary-looking tenement buildings, and Annie's eyes flicked back and forth. Without a gun or a jacket on, she felt awfully exposed.

"The fingerprint and the facial recognition of the person from the hospital room led to a person who lives here," she told Auggie quietly.

"Doesn't anyone feel rather very unprotected in the sketchiest part of town?" Auggie questioned. Annie looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"How do you know it's sketchy?" she asked. Auggie shrugged.

"I just do," he replied, "and you just confirmed it for me." He grinned, and she fought a smile at how absolutely insufferable he could be.

"Can we have a little quiet?" DiNozzo grumbled in front of her as they stopped in front of a building. McGee rapped on a door.

"Federal agents!" he called. "Open up!" A gunshot sounded in response to this call. For Annie, things seemed to turn into slow motion as the presence by her shoulder vanished. Annie's head swung around as the bullet connected with Auggie's shoulder, driving him to the ground.

"Auggie!" she shrieked. Gibbs whipped around and ran to Auggie's side. He dragged Auggie behind the car, Annie by their side.

"Stay here," Gibbs growled. He leapt up and ran back to where the NCIS agents stood, and Annie could hear them breaking in the door. She focused back on her situation, to find herself panting, nearly hyperventilating. Tears of shock were streaming down her cheeks as she sat in the shadow of the car next to Auggie's unmoving body. She covered her face with her hand, mentally chastising herself for falling apart in the field.

Beside her, she heard a groan.

Annie's eyes flew open in her hand, and she turned to Auggie. He was coughing, but no blood was visible.

"Oh, my God," she breathed, crawling to his side and ripping open his shirt. When she saw what was under his pristine, white, collared shirt, she almost fainted on the spot, falling back onto her heels.

Auggie was wearing a bulletproof vest that, by his collarbone, the bullet had struck and stayed partially immersed in.

"Oh, hey," he said between coughs with a kind of bemused curiosity. He felt on his chest and pulled out the bullet, holding it up. "We can run this against the other bullet and see if they match." Annie couldn't reply, too caught up in her own shock to even try. She stared wordlessly at him, her mouth open as the last couple of tears drained from her eyes.

"Annie?" he asked, sitting up, despite his continual coughing. "Say something, please. You're making me nervous." Annie didn't say anything, still sitting in shock. "I know you're there because your perfume is absolutely unique, even when you try to cover it up with – what is that?" He took a deep breath in. "Is that salt? Annie, why are you crying?" Annie's hand, by her side, slowly rose, then quickly flew across and slapped Auggie hard. He took a sharp intake of breath, holding a hand to his cheek, where it was quickly turning red.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a vest on?" Annie shouted at Auggie. He blinked, circling his jaw.

"Annie, I had a bullet slam into my shoulder and I think I blacked out when I hit the ground," he told her slowly. "You really think I need more pain?"

"Yes!" Annie yelled. "Of course you do! I thought you were dead! Joan will be pissed enough that I'm letting you do field work! If you were dead…" Annie stopped herself and sighed, looking at the ground. Quietly, she added, "I don't know what I would do without you." Auggie's hand searched the ground until it found Annie's. He followed it up her arm, then laid a hand on her cheek.

"You would adapt," he said softly. "You always do."

"I don't know if I could, Auggie," Annie told him, then she put her arms out and held Auggie's face in her hands, a hand on either side. She looked at his lips, longing to kiss him in her relief, but something held her back. As she paused, his breath caught in his throat as he wondered what she was doing. Her hands were so soft on his face, and her perfume overwhelmed him in the best possible way, missed with the salt she had cried. He wanted to feel her lips on his, to explore her face, to _see_ her as he had "seen" few in the past.

Annie leaned in and embraced him tightly. "Don't let me lose you again," she whispered in his ear.

_NCIS_

Behind them, Ziva, Tony, and Tim saw Auggie fall. His sudden collapse made Ziva feel cold. What if that had been Tony? Gibbs left with Annie and Auggie, but returned momentarily, kicking in the door. Ziva and Tony hurried upstairs and heard calls of "Clear!" from downstairs, before returning the calls themselves. They holstered their guns as they looked around, seeing things overturned and disorganized.

"Someone was just here," Tony grumbled. Ziva nodded slowly, unfocused. Her mind had wandered to thoughts of what Tim had said earlier that day, and what she would have done if Tony had just been shot. The shot fired would have to have been aimed just a couple of inches away from Tony.

Tony kicked a nearby chair over. "We just missed him." He began to leave, but as he passed Ziva, she grabbed his arm.

"Tony, I -" she began.

"What do you got?" Gibbs's voice echoed up to them. Ziva gritted her teeth, then let go of Tony's arm.

"Nevermind," she murmured. Tony looked longingly back into her eyes, wanting to know what she thought.

"Tell me," he told her softly. She looked back up, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

"Ziva! DiNozzo! What's up there?" Ziva looked toward the stairwell briefly, and took a step forward. Tony took hold of her hand to keep her from leaving.

"Forget Gibbs for a second," he whispered. "What's wrong?" Ziva shut her eyes, then pulled her hand out of his grip and walked to the stairwell.

"It looks like someone was just here," she called. Tony looked after her, wishing Gibbs hadn't interrupted them. Ziva glanced back at Tony, then turned and went down the stairs. Tony stayed up top for a little while longer, thinking. True, he and Ziva had put themselves in situations like that before, but this time was different. Tony's mind flicked back to the feel of her hand in his. He remembered the feel of her lips from their first undercover op. He remembered the feel on her lips on his cheek when she had returned from Israel. He remembered these things…and he wanted them back.

Tony sighed and followed Ziva down the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_CIA_

Annie entered Autopsy for the first time once they had reached the NCIS base again. She looked around and saw Gibbs standing by an autopsy table with another man nearby. The other man wore a suit with a bow tie, and glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. He greeted her with a cheery, "Oh, hello! May I help you?"

As Annie answered, she recognized his accent to be British. "Oh, I'm just trying to familiarize myself with NCIS. I'm Annie Walker, CIA."

"Ah, yes. Jethro has told me about you," the man replied, indicating Gibbs. "I am Doctor Mallard." He shook Annie's hand. "But you may call me Ducky. The young man sitting over there," Annie turned to see a younger man sitting at a desk, "is Jimmy Palmer, my assistant. Mr. Palmer, this is Annie, one of the CIA operatives we are working with." Palmer looked up and smiled. "Er, where is the other one?" Ducky asked.

"Oh, he's upstairs," Annie told him.

"What are they doing upstairs?" Gibbs asked, stepping forward.

"Agent McGee put out a BOLO on our suspect's car, Agent DiNozzo is looking up any friends and family, and Agent David is trying to trace cell phone and credit card use," Annie answered.

"Then go back up and help them," Gibbs instructed.

"I'm sure they're working fine on their -"

"Go."

Annie shoved down her rancor and turned on her heel, walking out the sliding doors.

_NCIS_

Behind Gibbs, Ducky chuckled.

"What?" Gibbs asked, sounding a little more irritated than he felt as he turned back.

"Your affections towards her," Ducky replied.

"What do you mean, Duck?" Gibbs questioned quietly.

"Well, you don't treat her the same way as you do every outside investigator you've come across," Ducky told him.

"No, I guess not," Gibbs said, looking back at the door through which Annie had left.

"Oh! Mr. Palmer," Ducky said suddenly, looking beyond and to the side of Gibbs. "I do believe Abigail wanted to see you in her lab."

"Really? Well, I'll just finish -"

"Urgently, Mr. Palmer."

"Yes, Doctor." Jimmy rose and nearly ran out the door. As the doors slid shut, Ducky allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Ah, the poor lad does mean well." He smiled. "Now, about Ms. Walker…I know you notice something in her, because I do, too. She reminds you of someone, doesn't she, Jethro?" Gibbs didn't say anything and just looked at Ducky steadily. "I understand it. She's a woman in the field, working hard to gain respect and a position of power…she is a lot like Jenny."

Gibbs paused. "Yeah. She reminds me of Jen…a lot." Ducky nodded understandingly.

"I suspected as much," he said. He turned and began putting things away around the room, calling out," You know, Jethro, there come times when we all must -"

"Aw, don't give me your letting go speech," Gibbs interrupted irritably. "I know how to let go. There's just…a difference between letting go and forgetting, Duck."

"I know that as well as you, Jethro," Ducky commented, walking back towards Gibbs. "Just make sure that you are on the right side of that line in between."

**-Abby's lab-**

"So, we're done with Ziva's part of Operation MET?" Abby asked Tim, excited.

"Yup," he replied. "Time for Tony's part." A knock on the door drew both their attentions.

"Abby? Doctor Mallard said you wanted to see me." It was Jimmy. Abby sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Palmer, when are you going to figure out that Ducky only says that when he needs to talk to Gibbs in private?" Abby asked exasperatedly.

"Really?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes!" Abby exclaimed. "Now go…wait in the elevator or something." Jimmy nodded meekly and left to go stand in the elevator. Tim looked at Abby in admiration and affection at how she could scare Jimmy away just like that.

"Look, Abby, we've been helping everyone else out," Tim began slowly. "It's just – I was thinking – why don't we help ourselves?" Abby's eyebrows pushed together in her confusion.

"What do you mean, McGee?" she asked, sounding vaguely suspicious.

"I think you know, Abby," Tim answered quietly. He stepped closer, and took Abby's hand in both of his. "Look, Abby, I think we both know. I'm crazy about you. I always have been." Abby felt her stomach crumbling away. She knew this was going to happen sometime, but did it have to happen _now_? She didn't know what to say.

"McGee, I -"

"Abby, please go out with me," Tim murmured. Abby froze, still unsure. She didn't want to say no, but she was too anxious to say yes. Something about Tim just…made her hesitate like nothing else could.

"McGee, I have to run these bullets," Abby told him, turning back to her keyboard. Tim found this to be a denial, and he nodded, backing away towards the door.

"I see," he said. "Well, I'll talk to you later. Don't forget about Operation MET." He left, thinking, 'Even if I'm not happy, someone should be.' Tim entered the now empty elevator, feeling rejected and heartbroken.

At her keyboard, Abby stopped typing and looked at the ground. She didn't want Tim to think that she was completely rejecting him…she just needed more time. There was, also, always Rule #12…

Abby's eyes almost filled with tears as she regretted her choice.

_CIA_

At the hotel where they were staying, Annie stretched out on her bed.

"I can't believe it's only been one day," she called to Auggie, who was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

"I know," he said, the toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. Annie heard him spit into the sink, then she heard the water running. Figuring it was safe, she began to unbutton her blouse to change into her pajamas. In the middle of this, Auggie walked out of the bathroom.

"Auggie!" Annie shrieked. "I'm changing!" Auggie stayed where he was, a smile crossing his face.

"See, if you hadn't told me, it would be so much less awkward," he told her, trying not to let her know how hot his face was getting. "You forget I can't see you."

"I don't care!" Annie shouted, her own cheeks turning pink. "Just turn around!" Auggie complied with her request, turning back to face the bathroom.

"So who do you think done it?" he asked over his shoulder. Annie shrugged as she buttoned up her silk pajama top.

"Probably, like, Russian spies," Annie told him. "Isn't it usually them?"

"True," Auggie said, in thought. Annie stepped into and pulled up her pajama pants.

"It's safe," she said. Auggie turned back around as Annie climbed under the covers of her bed. She clicked off her light as Auggie found his way to his bed, leaving the room in darkness.

"Not staying up reading or anything?" Auggie asked, bemused.

"Nope," Annie replied, settling down. "I'm exhausted." She shut her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. Auggie listened to the sound of her breathing for a minute, then he lay down as well, but had less success with sleep than she.

A few minutes later, he sat up. In the bed beside his, Annie was muttering in her sleep.

"No…no…what…run…go…help…" she was saying. Auggie's eyebrows pushed together, and he swung his legs off his bed and began making his way toward Annie's bed, guided by the sound of her frantic mumbling. When he finally found it, he knelt down and crossed his arms on her mattress.

"Annie," he whispered.

"Auggie!" she screamed, sitting bolt upright. Auggie put out a hand to try to find her leg. When he did, he laid his hand on it gently.

"I'm here, Annie," he murmured. "What's wrong?" She sighed, back in the real world again.

"Just a bad dream," Annie replied quietly. "I'm fine. You can go back to sleep now. Sorry to wake you." Auggie nodded and rose, feeling for Annie's hand. He followed it up her shoulder, ignoring the goosebumps it caused on her arm. He felt her chin, then laid a hand on her cheek.

"You didn't wake me," he breathed, then leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep." As soon as his hand left her cheek, Annie felt tears spring forth. Not wanting to bother Auggie again, she lay down and began to cry silently into her pillow.

Auggie smelled salt for the second time that day as he sat back down on his bed. He figured Annie wanted to keep her tears from him, seeing as she was almost completely silent. Auggie lay down on his bed again and closed his eyes, wanting sleep.

Annie sniffled.

Auggie sat up in his bed. "Annie, come here."

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Come here. Sit across from me." He heard the quiet creaking of her mattress as she got up and crossed the small aisle in between their beds. She climbed onto his bed and sat cross-legged, facing him.

"Now," Auggie said, satisfied, "what's wrong?"

"I told you, Auggie," Annie said, wiping her eyes. "It was just a bad -"

"No," Auggie interrupted. "It wasn't _just_ the dream. Bad dreams cause restlessness and irritation. They don't cause…this. Nightmares cause this. What was your dream, Annie?"

"It was about…you," Annie told him, her cheeks turning red in the darkness. Despite the gravity of the situation, Auggie cracked a smile.

"What was I doing?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Dying," Annie whispered, and Auggie's grin vanished. "Look, Auggie, what happened today really freaked me out. I thought you were gone, and I know I wouldn't be able to adapt. You're my best friend, closer than my sister, and maybe more." Annie paused to take a breath, and she realized she was crying again. "See this, Auggie?" she asked, wiping away a tear. Auggie bit back the usual smart-aleck response of, "No," because he could smell the tears. "I've cried more times today then I have all year," she told him. "And you know why?"

"Why?" Auggie asked quietly.

"Because of you," Annie responded softly. "And your unnecessary need to get into trouble." Auggie held back comments about _her_ need to get into trouble, as he thought about what she just said. Finally, he decided on a many-year old solution.

He held up the corner of his layers of sheet and told her again, "Come here." Her eyebrows pushed together incredulously.

"Are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"To _fall_ asleep with me, yes," Auggie said. "Look, when I was little and I had a bad dream, I always found that crawling into my parents' bed and falling asleep with them always helped. Just the fact that there was another person there is comforting…so…come on." He patted the bed. Annie blushed furiously, even though he was right.

"Move over," she mumbled, crawling beside him and slipping under the covers. He obliged, then felt her heat.

"No need to blush, Annie, we're just colleagues," he said with a smirk.

"Good night, Auggie," Annie told him loudly. She lay down, then felt him do the same beside her, so their backs were facing each other. Annie thought for a second, then sat up and looked at Auggie's still form, unsure if he was asleep. She bent down and gently kissed his cheek.

"Thanks," she whispered, then lay back down. Auggie smiled through the blush forming on his cheeks. When he heard the even sound of her sleep breathing, he turned over and put his arm over her lightly. As soon as he did this, she turned over into his embrace and nuzzled her face into his chest. Although he was unsure if she did this consciously or unconsciously, he liked it, and he fell asleep like that.

Annie Walker didn't have any more bad dreams that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_NCIS_

Ziva yawned as she sat at her desk.

"Up all night?" Tony asked with a suggestive eyebrow raise. Ziva glared at him, well aware of what he was implying.

"No," Ziva replied. "I just had an…exhausting day yesterday." Honestly, the thoughts she had considered about Tony caused by Tim and Auggie's near-death experience kept her up later than intended the previous night.

"Oh, hold on," Tim said quickly, on the phone, typing rapidly on his keyboard. Ziva and Tony looked over at him, having all but forgotten he was there from the beginning. "Thanks." He hung up the phone, and turned to Tony and Ziva. "Police found our car," he told them. He looked over and saw Gibbs's empty desk. "Where's the boss?"

"Probably down in Autopsy or Abby's lab," Ziva answered. "Why?"

"Well, police are going to be coming here with a suspect in a bit, and he should probably interrogate him," Tim replied. "Tony, can you go check for me?"

"Whoa. Since when is the recently non-probie probie able to give the senior Special Agent what to do?" Tony asked irritably, rising and walking towards Tim.

"Please, Tony," Tim replied simply.

"Just go, Tony," Ziva murmured, sensing something deeper underneath Tim's simple question. Tony glanced at her, at Tim, and back again.

"Fine," he muttered, then left for the elevator.

"McGee, is there something between you and Abby?" Ziva asked once Tony was safely out of earshot.

"No," Tim replied instantly. Ziva raised her eyebrows at him, and he remembered she could easily see through lies. He sighed. "I asked her out, and she said no. I'm just…not ready to see her again yet." Ziva nodded slowly.

"But, McGee…rule number 12…"

"I know, I know. Never date a coworker. Well, you see, it's just Abby, Ziva. She's something special." Ziva glanced over at Tony's empty seat.

"I understand," she said quietly. Tim looked over at Tony's desk, too, then back at Ziva.

"Done anything about that yet?"

"…No."

"Well, will you?"

"Yes."

**-Abby's Lab-**

"So, I ran the private's bullet against the one that hit Auggie," Abby said to Gibbs, pulling up pictures on her various monitors.

"And…?"

"They're a match!" she told him simply. "Whoever shot our private also shot our CIA friend Auggie." She went to turn around, and knocked a nearby Caf-POW! to the ground. Gibbs caught it before it spilled, and he placed it back on her desk.

"You alright, Abs? You seem distracted," Gibbs commented, looking as concerned as Gibbs can look.

"Of course," she replied, and Gibbs nodded, ready to go. "Gibbs," she called, and he turned around. "What would you do if I broke rule number 12?" Gibbs shrugged.

"I can't do anything about it," he said. "Abby, they're my rules, not yours." He smiled gently and kissed her cheek. "Be nice to Tim." Abby nodded, tears behind her eyes. She was almost ready to give Tim her _real_ response.

"Boss." Gibbs and Abby turned to see Tony in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"They got our suspect…they're bringing him in," Tony said.

"Then go to Interrogation," Gibbs said, and they both turned to go.

"Right, boss."

"Actually -" Abby exclaimed from behind them, and they both turned. "Tony, I kinda wanted to talk to you about something…like, now." She flashed Gibbs a small grimace, but he just nodded and left. Tony raised an eyebrow and sauntered back into the lab.

"What is this about, Abby?" he asked quietly.

"Ziva," Abby replied, adding extra staccatos to the name. Tony froze, eyeing her suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you being absolutely in love with her," Abby said, clasping her hands behind her back and wandering towards him.

"I'll say it again," Tony told her slowly, "what do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Tony!" Abby sighed, exasperated. "Everyone knows it! Remember that day you described your dream girl…can't you realize that you described Ziva?" Tony thought for a minute. It was true, he had described Ziva. It wasn't subconsciously, either. He was trying to draw a response out of her by describing her because honestly, she was his dream girl.

"So?" he asked quietly. "I really like Ziva. What needs to be done about that? I don't think anything, really, needs to be done." He paused for a minute. "How did you know about that day?"

"Oh, McGee told me," Abby answered with a hand wave. "Also, that's where you're wrong. Tony, how long has this been going on?"

"A year." Abby scoffed. "Fine. Two years." This time, she raised an eyebrow skeptically. Tony rolled his eyes. "I get it, I get it. I can't remember when it started. It was more than two years."

"Then don't you think it's about time you did something about it?" Abby asked quietly. "Think about it." She gave him a salute. "You are dismissed!" Tony turned and left, his mind churning.

_CIA_

Annie parked at the NCIS lot after a silent car drive with Auggie. When she woke up that morning, she had found herself in a kind of comfortable embrace, with her face buried in his chest. She carefully extracted herself from his arms, trying not to wake him. As she stepped out of the shower later, he finally woke up.

"Annie?" he called, then he took a breath in. "I smell like you. We slept together, didn't we?"

"_Fell_ asleep together, Auggie," Annie replied, blushing as she walked by in a bathrobe. "Now go take your shower."

"I dunno," Auggie told her, sniffing his arm. "Smells nice."

"Thanks," Annie said. "Now go shower." After he was done, they both ate breakfast and left for the NCIS building. They headed upstairs, and found Gibbs getting on the elevator and traveling up with them.

"Where are you going?" Annie asked.

"Interrogation," Gibbs answered simply, coffee in his hand. "Is that allowed?" Beside Annie, Auggie grinned.

"I want to see this," he commented. Annie rolled her eyes, but stepped out with Gibbs on the Interrogation floor. When they entered the back room, they found Ziva in there, watching Gibbs enter the main interrogation room.

"Hi," Annie said, sounding moderately breathless. Ziva glanced up at her, then back at the interrogation.

"Hello," she replied curtly. Annie raised her eyebrows and turned to Auggie.

"Someone's a little fierce," he whispered.

"I know!" she replied softly. "What've I done?"

"Tripping over yourself to impress the men around you," Ziva muttered. Annie whipped around to face Ziva's back.

"I'm sorry, what?" she snapped. Ziva turned around, arms crossed.

"You think I do not notice?" she asked. "I'm surprised your subjects miss it. Tony and…that one." She indicated Auggie, who snorted.

"Wait. You think I'm just…shamelessly flirting with them?" Annie questioned, quietly but dangerously.

"It does not look like anything else," Ziva told Annie who was about to erupt.

"Look here," Annie hissed. "I'm not trying to steal your guy from you."

"He's not my -"

"DiNozzo's an idiot!" Annie cut off Ziva with a bit of finger/hand waving. "Even if I wanted to flirt with him – which I don't – he wouldn't even notice!"

"And Auggie?" Ziva asked. Annie scoffed, trying not to let Ziva crack into her mind.

"Auggie's -" Annie was going to say, "just a friend," but she knew that that would be a lie. "Auggie's different," she murmured. Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"How?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, he's always got my back, and I've always got his," Annie explained softly. "You must know what that's like. With DiNozzo?" Ziva nodded slowly, her eyes focusing on something beyond Annie. "I thought so." Ziva's eyes suddenly flicked back to Annie, and they were wide, as if she had just realized something.

"I have to go," she whispered, and left Interrogation. Annie raised her eyebrows and turned back to Auggie.

"What was that about?" Auggie asked, a smile dancing around his lips.

"I have no idea," Annie answered slowly. Silence fell between them again, and they listened to Gibbs steadily drill the answers out of their suspect, a man who had no relation to the private but seemed to be a hired assassin.

"Having Gibbs interrogate him seems almost unfair," Auggie commented with a grin, and Annie nodded, smiling.

_NCIS_

Ziva arrived at her desk only to find the one facing her empty. She looked around and only saw Tim at his desk.

"Where's Tony?" she asked him.

"Ziva, are you -"

"Where's Tony?" Tim looked up at her sharply, surprised by the fierceness he saw in her eyes.

"He went out to buy lunch," Tim answered slowly. Ziva cursed under her breath in Hebrew and grabbed her bag.

"Did he say where?" she demanded from Tim, who still looked clueless for the most part.

"The, uh, sandwich shop down the street," he replied, his eyebrows pushing together in confusion. Ziva nodded and swung her bag over her shoulder, and Tim looked back at his computer. "Good luck," he called. Ziva gritted her teeth and nodded. She had killed too many men to count in the past when necessary, but this she would need luck for.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_NCIS_

Ziva pulled up at the sandwich shop and pit the car in park, taking a breath to try to steady her nerves. She had been here many times before on lunch runs, but never before was she this nervous. She stepped out of the car and began looking around for Tony. Finally, she found him sitting at a nearby table.

"Tony!" she called, unsure whether to be anxious or relieved. He turned, a smile on his face. Once he realized who had called him, he lost the smile and looked almost...guilty...?

"I need to -" Ziva froze. Across from Tony was some woman. Ziva's heart sank as she realized that that was why she had never told Tony her feelings. He had awful commitment issues, and was bored with a girl by the time he learned her name. How could she expect him to like her back when he'd known her for years?

"Ziva," he breathed, getting up and turning to face her.

"No," she told him, holding up her hands "I understand. I do not want to ruin your date. Please." She gestured back at his seat, and he groaned inwardly as she turned and began walking back to the car. Tony threw a 20-dollar bill down on rhe table in front of the woman.

"Keep the change," he muttered, then turned and ran after Ziva. She hadn't made it to her car when he caught up to her and grabbed her wrist. In front of him, her shoulders rose and fell in a sigh.

"Tony, if you want to keep your hand, I suggest you let go of my wrist," she told him quietly, her head turned to the side but looking at the ground.

"What if I don't want to?" he replied quietly. "What if I would rather lose my hand then let go of yours?" Ziva's heart pounded as she turned around slowly and looked Tony in the eye.

"Why would you not want to let go of my hand?" Ziva asked.

"Because maybe I feel like it belongs in my hand," Tony murmured. "Because may I want to make sure you don't leave my side. Because maybe it's a possibility that I'm in love with you, and have been for years." Ziva looked deep into his hazel eyes, unsure what to think.

She scoffed. "Tony, you can barely keep a girlfriend for a month, and by that time, you're ogling someone else! How can I expect you to actually have been in love with me for years?"

"Because I am," Tony said, "and this is real."

"Well, if you are so in love with me, then who was that woman you were just trying to impress over your French fries?" Ziva asked, not wanting to believe it.

"That was an old friend." Tony was gazing steadily at Ziva. "We were catching up after not having seen each other for probably over a decade."

"Yes, your way of 'catching up,'" Ziva replied snidely, rolling her eyes.

"Why won't you believe me, Ziva?" Tony questioned, beginning to lose his temper.

""Because I know you, Tony!" Ziva exclaimed. "I probably know you better than you know yourself."

"Then how do you know I'm not telling the truth?"

"Because I -" Ziva began, but Tony interrupted her by stepping forward and quickly pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened and her foot stepped back in her surprise, her breath catching in her throat. She then relaxed into the kiss, and he put his hands gently on either side of her face. Eventually they broke apart, looking into each other's eyes.

"Is that proof enough for you?" Tony breathed.

"I do not know," Ziva replied. "Your kisses were rather convincing when we were undercover, too...but even if they are or were fake, they are absolutely perfect." She kissed him again.

_CIA_

Annie and Auggie made their way back to the car. The man, the hired assassin, had confessed to killing the private. The private had gotten involved in secret drug trials that brought out the aggression in him, but didn't disturb his work. Through the aggression, though, he had alienated everyone close to him in his personal life. When the private was sick of being in the trial, he threatened to spill the beans on the illegal company. The boss couldn't stand for that, and he had the private...silenced.

"So all's well and Langley awaits," Auggie said with a smile, as he and Annie climbed into the car. Annie looked up at him, a half-smile flicking across her face.

"I guess," she said, though her mind was still trying to sort out her feelings towards Auggie. She started up the car, looking back at him briefly. "So that means just one more night at the hotel, huh?"

"Yup," Auggie replied. "Just...one more night. Sounds like a bad teen romance movie." Annie laughed.

"Think we could get away with telling Joan that we still haven't caught the private's killer?" she asked, pulling onto the road.

Auggie chuckled. "You actually want to spend more time with me?" he asked incredulously. Annie glanced at him again and grinned.

"I suppose you're not as infuriating as you…_could_ be," she told him.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said with a smile. The rest of the car ride to the hotel was spent in silence. As they pulled into the parking lot at the hotel, though, Annie noticed Auggie spacing out a little bit.

"Auggie?" she asked. "What's wrong?" She pulled the car to a stop.

"He turned to face her, and said quietly, "Annie…you said that I was…different." She nodded, her eyebrows pushing together. She had absolutely told Ziva Auggie was different because, well, he was. Annie didn't really flirt with him. She was just in love with him…that was all.

"I did," she replied slowly.

"What did you mean, 'different'?" Auggie asked softly. Annie didn't know how to reply. She _wanted_ to tell him that she absolutely adored him, that his smile brightened her day. He wanted her to, too, because he could sense what she meant and wanted to draw it out of her. He wanted to make sure that she felt the same way as him, and that what they had could be tangible.

"I…don't know," Annie told him. "I mean, of course I don't flirt with you. We're too good of friends."

"Really?" Auggie asked. "Annie, we fell asleep together, and you say I'm different. Are you sure you didn't mean a different kind of different?"

"How many different kinds of different are there?" Annie asked as they stepped out of the car. She was honestly trying to sidetrack the conversation, deflect it from the subject at hand, but Auggie was relentless.

"Don't distract me," he said quickly. "Without eyesight, it's a lot easier to learn better focus for one thing at a time. So…what did you mean, different?" Annie sighed as they began walking toward the lobby.

"I don't know, Auggie!" she exclaimed. "You're just different!"

"That's what I'm asking you!" Auggie said, the volume of his voice increasing. "Different how?" Annie was taken aback by his fierceness.

"I don't – I don't know. You're just different."

"Stop saying I'm 'just different,'" he insisted. They entered an elevator alone, and when the doors shut, he stepped towards her. "Give me a reason why."

"You're different because…" Annie trailed off, at a loss for words. Something kept holding her back, as she tried to figure out how to word her feelings.

"Say it," he told her softly. "Say it, Annie, I know you want to." Annie looked up at him. He must have known for a while now, probably longer than she did.

"Well, Auggie, I guess you're different because…I'm in love with you." Auggie nodded.

"That's what I thought. That's what I _knew_. Don't try to hide it from me, Annie, I already know it."

"Well?" Annie asked him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, what?"

"Well, what's your response? God, Auggie, I just told you I'm in love with you, and you don't have a response for me? This isn't – I'm not playing one of your little games. I'm not riding along on some stupid trick you're playing. This isn't a trick. This is us. What's your response?" He didn't reply, just stepped closer to her. She blushed at his proximity, and he took her hand in his.

"Well, my response is simple," he told her quietly. His free hand traveled up her arm and stopped on her cheek. He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. Annie relaxed into the kiss instantly, knowing that this was perfect, because they were just right for each other and they always had been, and always would be. Eventually, they broke apart.

"That is my response," Auggie breathed, and Annie smiled as they gently touched their foreheads together.

_NCIS_

Tim took a deep breath to steady his nerves as he rode the elevator down to Abby's lab. He had to ask her something about the private, but he couldn't do that without talking to her. The elevator stopped moving, and a small _bing_ notified Tim he had reached the lab. Tim took one final, calming breath, then walked out of the elevator.

"Hey, Abby," he said, walking in through the door. Abby turned from her work, and once she realized it was Tim, she froze, looking up at him as if he was Gibbs, catching her slacking off. Tim glanced behind himself to make sure that Gibbs wasn't actually there, then looked back at Abby, brow furrowed in curiosity. "What's going on?" he asked, forcing himself to remember that this was Abby, and not just a girl who had broken his heart.

Before Tim could process what was happening, Abby quickly strode over to him and placed both hands on either side of his face and pulled him into a kiss. It lasted only a second, though, as Abby quickly broke away. Tim was still reeling as Abby looked at him, eyes wide, as if she was also shocked at what she had just done.

"I'm sorry," she said anxiously, with a small grimace. She didn't regret it, though; she just felt bad for catching him by surprise.

"That was…unexpected," Tim said slowly, wiping the black lipstick off his mouth.

"I know," Abby replied, stepping back. "It's just that – McGee, I didn't say no before. I just needed more time."

"What?" he asked, barely believing his own ears. Abby stepped forward again and gave Tim one of her rarest kind of hugs – a slow and gentle one.

"I'd love to go out with you," she murmured in his ear. When she stepped back, a smile was slowly forming across his face.

"Thank you, Abby," he told her formally. "You will not be let down." She smiled back at him, and the joy rose up from his stomach. He swooped in and caught Abby in another kiss.


	10. Epilogue: Just Right

**Epilogue: Just Right**

_CIA_

Annie and Auggie finally made it back to Langley the next afternoon.

"Well, we're here," Annie sighed, putting the car in park. She glanced at Auggie, who had made no effort to get out of the car.

"We have to get out _now_?" Auggie asked, slightly irritably.

"Yes," Annie told with him a half-smile. She unbuckled and got out of the car, Auggie following her example. When they were out, Annie wandered to Auggie's side and took his hand in hers. He curled their arms up and laid a hand on her elbow gently.

"Let's loiter for a bit," Auggie commented, grinning.

"Hmm, not too long, though," Annie replied. "I don't want to really infuriate Joan on our day back."

"Of course," Auggie replied. They had reached the entrance, and Auggie pulled her aside. "Let's just loiter long enough for this." He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her into a kiss. Annie pulled her hand out of his and put her arms around his neck, freeing his other arm to encircle her waist and pull her closer to him, wanting her proximity. Eventually, they broke apart, and relinquished hold of each other.

"Keep this secret?" Annie asked softly.

"It's a shame, but I think that's wise," Auggie replied. "After all, we're CIA agents. Grant me one last favor?"

"It's not like I'm dying, Auggie," Annie told him with a small grin. "Any favor you want."

"Later, can we go back to my place? We can make dinner and listen to some music…I haven't gone out with someone since before Iraq." Annie smiled gently and kissed him again.

"It's a date," she murmured, and they entered the CIA building together.

_NCIS_

"So what is on the menu for tonight?" Ziva asked, holding popcorn in one hand and soda in the other. She pulled up a seat next to Tony in front of the giant plasma between his and Tim's desks.

"Casablanca," Tony replied with a grin. "I can't believe you haven't seen it before. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman…it's a classic." He lowered his voice to a husky Humphrey Bogart pitch. "We'll always have Paris." Ziva looked over at him and smiled.

"Yes, we will," she replied quietly.

"It's a quote from the movie," Tony explained, and Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"It is not _just_ that," Ziva said, "and you know it."

"Maybe you're right," Tony commented, thinking about it.

"I usually am." Ziva took a sip from her soda, looking out of the corner of her eyes at Tony.

"Why are you staring at me?" Tony asked, picking up his own bag of popcorn as the credits started to roll.

Ziva shrugged. "I was thinking of Paris."

"Me too."

"Do you know why?"

Tony looked up at her with curiosity. "Why?" A smile crept across her face as she put her popcorn and soda aside. She stood up and walked to his chair, standing in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Do you mind explaining yourself?" he asked. "You're blocking the opening credits." Ziva leaned down and placed her hands on both armrests of his chair. She slowly moved in and gently kissed him on the lips. He put up a hand and laid it on her cheek, kissing her back.

Once they broke apart, Ziva murmured, "That's why."

"Someday, we'll go back," Tony told her. "I promise." He kissed her again, unable to resist himself.

**-Abby's Lab-**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Abby asked, her eyebrows pushing together in concern. Tim's brow furrowed and he looked up at her with determination written across his face.

"Yes," he answered. "I'm sure. And I'm ready."

"Absolutely sure?" Abby questioned again. She picked up a nearby Wiimote. "Nobody's beaten my high score. Ever!"

"Well, records are made to be broken," Tim told her with a smile. "But I have an advantage."

"And that is?" Abby asked, handing Tim the Wiimote.

"I can never be distracted from a video game," Tim replied, grinning cockily.

"Well, we'll see about that," Abby said mischievously. Tim started playing the game, quickly losing focus on anything else besides the large plasma screen he was playing on.

"Tim!" Abby shouted in his face. He didn't respond, still focusing on the game. "I'm pregnant, Tim!" He still didn't reply. "The police are coming. I've been shot. I'm going to die, McGee. Blood is spouting everywhere." Still nothing. "You're losing the game." She glanced up at the plasma. "You've almost beaten my high score!" Abby watched the numbers steadily tick up, and stepped in to Tim, blocking his view of the plasma. He leaned to the side to look around and see the plasma again, but Abby just followed him and leaned to the other side as well. He leaned back to center, but Abby moved as well again. Tim leaned to the other side, but Abby leaned in and suddenly kissed him. Finally losing focus, Tim dropped his Wiimote and put his hands on either side of her face, kissing her back.

"Made you lose your focus," Abby said quietly, breaking away and smiling at Tim. He pursed his lips and looked around her at the plasma, then grinned.

"I still won," he said. Abby gasped as she turned to look at the plasma.

"No way!" she exclaimed, snatching the Wiimote away and looking at the high scores. "How did you do that? I distracted you!" Tim kissed her cheek gently.

"Yes, but too late," he murmured, grinning.

**-Gibbs's Basement-**

Alone in his basement, Gibbs steadily sanded away at wood on his latest project. He paused for a minute, and sat down in his nearby chair, looking at the project thoughtfully. Grabbing his usual bottle of scotch, he poured himself a drink. Gibbs was thinking hard about what he was going to name this newest project. Maybe he should name it after an old friend…but which one?

He took another sip of scotch and glanced at his desk, the corner of a photograph catching his eye. Setting his scotch down, he unearthed it, taking in what it was of. With a smile, he recalled good times with the person in the photo.

Maybe "Jenny" would be a good name…


End file.
